Police identify apparent suicide victim found at Napatree Point

Westerly — Police have identified the man who apparently killed himself at Napatree Point as 57-year-old Mark R. Gabrielson of Trumbull.

Police and members of the Westerly Ambulance Corps responded to the beach at 1:13 p.m. Tuesday after someone came across the body.

Police said Gabrielson shot himself in the head. Following an autopsy Wednesday, the Rhode Island Office of the State Medical Examiner said the cause of death was a “contact gunshot wound of the head.”

Gabrielson was found near the beach cabanas. His car was located in the Watch Hill parking lot.

Police Chief Edward W. St. Clair said detectives are trying to piece together the last 24 hours of Gabrielson’s life and are interviewing his family members in an effort to understand why he committed suicide.